Credit Score Knowledge Eases Getting a Loan Whether Hagerstown residents are looking for a home equity line of credit, a refi, or a new mortgage, when it comes to getting a loan, everyone knows that it’s the credit score that ultimately determines the outcome. Yet when it comes to a working knowledge of what major factors affect your score, a new survey shows that many of us are less certain than we should be. The Consumer Federation of America is a nonprofit outfit that from time to time releases reports designed to improve that situation. Their latest is a sort of report card on how much average adults understand about credit scoring — the key factor in getting a loan of any kind. On the plus side of the report card, CFA says that people who have obtained one or more of their own cred... 05/23/2013

This year April 15 falls on a Monday —for many, that undoubtedly bodes ill for the weekend preceding. Tax time may be the leading contender for everyone’s least favorite time of year, yet there are some potential breaks of sunlight shining through the tax time overcast. Most of us know these already, but it’s still encouraging to remember the substantial advantage that Washington County home sellers stand to gain: • Most Hagerstown home sellers who have owned and lived in their primary residence for at least two of the preceding five years can exclude $250,000 of any gain (up to $500k for those filing joint returns). This is a gigantic incentive for homeownership. The major exception comes for those who have taken this deduction within the previous two years. • You may be able to deduct... 04/08/2013

Record-Breaking Interest Rates Cause for…Yawns? (Yawn). There is something to be said for relaxation, for sure. In today’s fast-paced world, allowing yourself some low-key moments is important. It’s stress-reducing. Health-promoting.         But there’s a time and place for everything, and whenever I set out to share the latest real estate news, my hope is to be able to offer new information that is more than just informative – it should be fascinating, too!     (Stretch; yawn). Even exciting. However, sometimes it turns out that, in the interest of accuracy, that just isn’t possible. This month, for instance.    It’s time to share the late-breaking October news on mortgage interest rates, and although it actually is record-breaking (stifled yawn), somehow it’s hard to get awfully work... 10/15/2012

Hagerstown Short Sales Take Sound Strategy     Last month, the number of new foreclosures listed nationally barely crept upward -- even as average sale prices leapt dramatically. Realtytrac compiles the numbers, and they show a sizeable 10%+ jump in foreclosure sales prices from July to August. Of course, homes listed as foreclosures and short sales still close at prices markedly lower than homes sold in traditional transactions, but that rise in price seems to say that more buyers are feeling confident that a home purchased now will look like a wise move in the future. If you have been looking at the distressed property market in Washington County, these numbers suggest that the short sale and foreclosure possibilities are still being created -- and that the value they represent is ge... 09/27/2012